Airway adaptor

ABSTRACT

An airway adaptor includes: an airway case; and an expired gas guiding portion which is connected to the airway case to introduce a respiratory gas to the airway case. The airway case includes: a first respiratory gas flow path in which the respiratory gas flows in a first direction; and a second respiratory gas flow path in which the respiratory gas flows in a second direction opposite to the first direction.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the shape of an airway adaptor for, incarbon dioxide measurement for detecting and measuring the existence,concentration, and the like of carbon dioxide in the respiratory gasexpired through the nostrils or mouth of the living body, guiding theexpired gas discharged through the nostrils or mouth of the living body,thereby allowing a measurement relating to carbon dioxide in the expiredgas to be effectively performed. The airway adaptor is configured sothat, in the case where a carbon dioxide sensor is to be attached to theairway adaptor, the operations of attaching or detaching the sensor canbe performed simply and easily.

For example, a related-art carbon dioxide sensor for detecting andmeasuring the existence, concentration, and the like of carbon dioxidein the expired gas discharged through the nostrils or mouth of theliving body is configured in the following manner (seeJP-A-2003-315264). An airway case is provided in which transmissivewindows through which light is transmitted are disposed on right andleft side faces of an airtight case that is formed in a cylindrical orbox-like shape, respectively, and openings for guidingly introducing theexpired gas and leading the gas to the outside are formed in the upperand lower faces or the like, respectively. On the side faces of theairway case in which the transmissive windows are disposed, a lightemitting element and a light receiving element are supported bysupporting members, respectively while being opposed to each other.Light which is transmitted through the expired gas passing through theinterior of the airway adaptor is detected and measured.

In order to effectively introduce the expired gas discharged through thenostrils of the living body into the airway case for attaching thecarbon dioxide sensor, the airway adaptor is configured so that one sidehas nasal tubes which are to be inserted respectively into the twonostrils of the living body, and the other side is connected to a holeportion disposed in the airway case. The carbon dioxide sensor isconfigured so as to be detachable from the airway case.

In the thus configured carbon dioxide sensor, the measurement object isthe expired gas discharged through the nostrils of the living body, andtherefore the nasal tubes are attached to the nostrils with using anairway adaptor. Accordingly, the sensor can be applied also to a maskwhich is configured as a mask for carbon dioxide measurement having anasal mask shell.

From this viewpoint, a related-art carbon dioxide nasal mask has beendeveloped, which, even when a gas is supplied at a high flow rate fromthe outside into the mask, can correctly measure the concentration ofcarbon dioxide, and which is configured so that oxygen or the like canbe forcibly supplied (see JP-A-2008-200061).

Namely, the carbon dioxide nasal mask disclosed in JP-A-2008-200061includes: a nasal mask shell which has a close contact edge adapted tobe brought into close contact with the face so as to cover the nose, andthe interior of which configures a sealed space; an airway case which isformed in a part of the nasal mask shell, which, in a state where thenasal mask shell is worn, is positioned immediately below the nostrils,thereby allowing the expired gas expired through the nostrils to beintroduced, which has an expired gas discharge port for discharging theintroduced expired gas, and which is used for detachably attaching acarbon dioxide sensor to the outside of the nasal mask shell; anintroduction port for allowing a gas such as oxygen or air to beintroduced from the outside into the nasal mask shell; and a nasal tubefor ensuring a passage through which, in the nasal mask shell, theexpired gas that is introduced from the nostrils into the airway case isguided to the airway case without being diluted by the gas arriving fromthe introduction port.

In the thus configured carbon dioxide nasal mask, the expired gasreaches the airway case through the nasal tube, and adequately escapesinto the nasal mask shell through the expired gas discharge port. Evenwhen oxygen or the like arrives at the introduction port disposed in thenasal mask shell, therefore, accurate carbon dioxide measurement isenabled without causing the expired gas from the nose to be diluted byoxygen or the like which flows into from the introduction port. Sincethe nasal mask shell is in close contact with the face in the closecontact edge, the oxygen or the like arriving at the introduction portcan be used for generating a positive pressure, and hence can be used inan apparatus for CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) or NPPV(Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation) therapy which is used intreatment of a patient suffering from sleep apnea syndrome orrespiratory failure. Therefore, carbon dioxide measurement underpositive pressure ventilation which is hardly performed in the prior artis enabled.

In JP-A-2008-200061, the airway case which is disposed in the carbondioxide nasal mask, and which is used for attaching the carbon dioxidesensor is formed as a part of the nasal mask, the Y-shaped nasal tubewhich can be inserted into the nostrils is disposed in one end of theairway case, and the other end is disposed so as to be opposed to anopen port disposed in the airway case. With respect to the thusconfigured airway case, it is necessary to obtain a configurationarrangement where the inlet and outlet for the expired gas are disposedso as to be opposed to each other, and, in order to allow theintroducing flow of the expired gas to easily move, the whole airwaycase is housed inside the carbon dioxide nasal mask.

As described above, the carbon dioxide nasal mask has a complex design,and hence works such as assembling of a plurality of parts andmaintenance are required. When the mask and the airway case are madedetachable without causing air leakage, there arises a problem in thatthe structure is complicated. Also in the case where the carbon dioxidesensor is attached to the airway case, the sensor must be incorporatedinside the nasal mask, and there is a disadvantage in that the attachingand detaching operations are cumbersome.

Moreover, the carbon dioxide nasal mask has a special shape which iscomplexly designed, and hence is difficult to be produced. Therefore,problems in production technique and cost remain to be solved.

SUMMARY

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an airway adaptorconfigured so that operations of attaching and detaching a carbondioxide nasal mask (or a carbon dioxide face mask), to and from anexpired gas guiding portion and an airway case are facilitated, theairway case is configured so as to be projected to the outside of thenasal mask (or the face mask), a hermetical configuration is formed inwhich introduction and discharge of the expired gas passing through theairway case can be surely performed inside the nasal mask (or the facemask) without causing air leakage to the outside thereof, and a carbondioxide sensor can be easily attached to and detached from the airwaycase.

In order to achieve the object, according to the invention, there isprovided an airway adaptor comprising:

an airway case; and

an expired gas guiding portion which is connected to the airway case tointroduce a respiratory gas to the airway case, wherein

the airway case includes:

-   -   a first respiratory gas flow path in which the respiratory gas        flows in a first direction; and    -   a second respiratory gas flow path in which the respiratory gas        flows in a second direction opposite to the first direction.

The expired gas guiding portion may be detachably connected to theairway case.

The airway case may include a first side face and a second side facewhich are opposed to each other, and a carbon dioxide sensor may beattachable to the first side face and the second side face.

The first respiratory gas flow path and the second respiratory gas flowpath may be juxtaposed to each other.

One of the first and second respiratory gas flow paths may surround theother of the first and second respiratory gas flow paths.

A nose cup for surrounding a periphery of nostrils may be disposed onone of the expired gas guiding portion and the airway case.

A part of the airway adaptor may be disposed on a nasal mask shell of anasal mask in which positive pressure ventilation is enabled, and theairway case may be projected to an outside of the nasal mask shell.

The expired gas guiding portion may be a nasal tube which is to beinserted into nostrils of a living body.

The expired gas guiding portion may include: a first guiding portionwhich guides the respiratory gas from nostrils of a living body; and asecond guiding portion which guides the respiratory gas from a mouth ofthe living body.

The respiratory gas which is guided by the first guiding portion and therespiratory gas which is guided by the second guiding portion may bejoined together in the airway case or at an upstream side of the airwaycase.

A part of the airway adaptor may be disposed on a face mask shell of aface mask in which positive pressure ventilation is enabled, and theairway case may be projected to an outside of the face mask shell.

The first guiding portion may be a nasal tube which is to be insertedinto the nostrils of the living body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a configuration example of an airwayadaptor of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the airway adaptor shown in FIG. 1, takenalong line A-A.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an embodiment in which the airwayadaptor is applied to a carbon dioxide nasal mask.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the airway adaptor which is applied to thecarbon dioxide nasal mask shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of portions taken along line B-B of FIG. 4and showing the configuration of the airway adaptor.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate relationships between the configurations offirst and second respiratory gas flow paths, and the flow of therespiratory gas in an airway case of the airway adaptor, FIG. 6A is adiagram showing a configuration where the first and second respiratorygas flow paths are juxtaposed, and FIG. 6B is a diagram showing aconfiguration where one of the first and second respiratory gas flowpaths surrounds the other path.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a use state in the case where the airwayadaptor is applied to a carbon dioxide nasal mask.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view in the case where the airway adaptor isapplied to a carbon dioxide face mask.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing flows of the respiratory gases from the noseand the mouth in the case where the airway adaptor is applied to acarbon dioxide face mask.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing attachment of a carbon dioxide sensor inthe case where the airway adaptor is applied to a carbon dioxide facemask.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a use state in the case where the airwayadaptor is applied to a carbon dioxide face mask.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Next, embodiments of the airway adaptor of the invention will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In thefigures, the identical components are denoted by the same referencenumerals, and duplicated description will be omitted.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a configuration example of the airway adaptor of theinvention, FIG. 1 is a front view, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the airway adaptor of the invention isconfigured by an airway case 10, and an expired gas guiding portion 20which is communicatingly connected to the airway case 10 to guidinglyintroduce the respiratory gas to the airway case 10. The airway case 10and the expired gas guiding portion 20 are detachably configured.

The airway case 10 includes a joining portion 22 which is used forcommunicating connection to the expired gas guiding portion 20, and isconfigured so that transmissive windows 12 through which light istransmitted are disposed on right and left side faces of an airtightcase that is formed in a cylindrical or box-like shape, respectively,and an opening 15 for guidingly introducing the expired gas anddischarging the gas to the outside is formed in the upper face 14.

In the expired gas guiding portion 20, a Y-shaped nasal tube 23 which isto be inserted into the nostrils of the living body is disposed in oneside, and the other side is communicatingly connected to the joiningportion 22 which is formed so as to be communicatingly connected to theopening 15 formed in the upper face 14 of the airway case 10 toguidingly introduce the expired gas into the airway case 10.

The airway case 10 has a configuration where an expired gas introducingpassage 24 which is used for introducing the expired gas guidinglyintroduced from the expired gas guiding portion 20, and which functionsas a first respiratory gas flow path, and an expired gas dischargingpassage 26 functioning as a second respiratory gas flow path which isformed so as to be juxtaposed with the expired gas introducing passage24 to discharge the expired gas introduced into the airway case 10, tothe outside are disposed. The reference numeral 27 denotes a dischargeport of the expired gas discharging passage 26.

FIGS. 3 to 5 show an embodiment in which the thus configured airwayadaptor of the invention is applied to an outer edge portion of a nasalmask shell constituting a nasal mask, FIG. 3 is a perspective view, FIG.4 is a front view, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view.

In FIGS. 3 to 5, as the expired gas guiding portion 20 of the airwayadaptor, a nasal tube 23 which is to be inserted into the nostrils isexemplarily shown. In this case, the expired gas guiding portion 20 isrequested to have a shape which can adequately guide the expired gasfrom the nostrils to the joining portion 22, and not required to be thenasal tube 23. For example, the portion may have a cup-like shape whichcovers the nostrils.

The airway case 10 may be partitioned into at least two passages by apartition wall 25 on the side of the opening 15 formed in the upper face14, one of the partitioned passages is formed as the expired gasintroducing passage 24, and the other passage is formed as the expiredgas discharging passage 26 (see FIG. 5).

For example, the airway case 10 may be structured so that the expiredgas flowing through the expired gas introducing passage 24 is returnedin the airway case 10 and flows through the expired gas dischargingpassage 26 (see FIG. 6A). Alternatively, the airway adaptor may have aconfiguration where one of the expired gas introducing passage 24 andthe expired gas discharging passage 26 is placed in the periphery of theother passage while being separated therefrom by a required partitionwall 25′ (see FIG. 6B). In this way, it may be configured so that one ofthe expired gas introducing passage 24 functioning as the firstrespiratory gas flow path and the expired gas discharging passage 26functioning as the second respiratory gas flow path surrounds the otherpassage. Contrary to FIG. 6A, the expired gas introducing passage 24 maysurround the expired gas discharging passage 26. As described above, itis configured (set) so that the respiratory gas flowing through theexpired gas introducing passage 24 functioning as the first respiratorygas flow path, and that flowing through the expired gas dischargingpassage 26 functioning as the second respiratory gas flow path flow inopposite directions.

In the embodiment, in the thus configured airway adaptor, a part of theairway case 10 is fixedly placed on an outer edge portion 32 of a nasalmask shell 30 constituting a carbon dioxide nasal mask M, and the airwaycase 10 is connected to the outside of the outer edge portion 32 of thenasal mask shell 30 while the airway case 10 is projected from the nasalmask shell 30 as illustrated (see FIGS. 3 to 5). As illustrated, a nosecup 34 for surrounding the periphery of the nostrils of the living bodyis fixedly placed on a part of the airway case 10 forming the expiredgas introducing passage 24 (see FIGS. 3 to 5).

In the embodiment, the discharge port 27 of the expired gas dischargingpassage 26 of the airway case 10 is opened in the inner side of thenasal mask shell 30. As shown in FIG. 4, a carbon dioxide sensor 40 canbe detachably attached to the airway case 10 of the thus configuredairway adaptor so as to be opposed to the side faces in which thetransmissive windows 12 are disposed.

FIG. 7 shows a state where the carbon dioxide nasal mask M configured byapplying the airway adaptor of the embodiment is used on the subject. Inthis case, the outer edge portion 32 of the nasal mask shell 30 of thecarbon dioxide nasal mask M butts against the periphery of the nose inthe face of the subject so as to surround the periphery, the nose cup 34is placed so as to surround a peripheral portion of the nostrils, andthe tip ends of the expired gas guiding portion 20 are inserted into thenostrils, respectively. The nasal mask shell 30 is in close contact withthe face in the outer edge portion 32, and hence the oxygen or the likearriving at an introduction port 2 can be used for generating a positivepressure.

In this way, the expired gas discharged through the nostrils of thesubject is guidingly introduced from the expired gas guiding portion 20to the airway case 10 through the expired gas introducing passage 24 ofthe airway case 10. Then, the expired gas which is introduced into theairway case 10 is discharged into the nasal mask shell 30 through thedischarge port 27 which is opened in the inner side of the nasal maskshell 30 (see FIG. 5). The expired gas which is passed through theinterior of the airway case 10 as described above can be subjected todetection and measurement of the concentration of carbon dioxide or thelike of the expired gas, by the carbon dioxide sensor 40.

Furthermore, another embodiment of the airway adaptor of the inventionin which the invention is applied to a face mask will be described withreference to FIGS. 8 to 11.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a carbon dioxide face mask M2 in which theairway adaptor of the invention is applied to a face mask for coveringthe nose and the mouth. The carbon dioxide face mask M2 includes a facemask shell 60 having an outer edge portion 61 constituting an openingwhich allows the nose and mouth of the subjected to be covered. Theexpired gas guiding portion 20 which communicates with the airway case10 is disposed in the face mask shell 60. The expired gas guidingportion 20 is configured by a first guiding portion 50 which guides therespiratory gas from the nostrils, and a second guiding portion 52 whichguides the respiratory gas from the mouth. Although a nasal tube isshown as an example of the first guiding portion 50, the portion may bea cup-like nose cup which covers the nose. A part of the airway adaptoris fixedly placed on a tip end portion 62 in which the diameter isreduced in a tapered manner with starting from the opening configured bythe outer edge portion 61 of the face mask shell 60, and the airway case10 is projected to the outside of the face mask shell 60. Both theabove-described configuration including the face mask shell 60, and aconfiguration from which the face mask shell 60 is omitted can becommercially distributed.

FIG. 9 shows flows of the respiratory gas in the case where the airwayadaptor of the invention is applied to a face mask. The respiratory gas70 from the nose is guided through the first guiding portion 50, andthen mixed with the respiratory gas 72 from the mouth in the joiningportion 22 which is at the upstream (the upstream in the flow of theexpired gas) side of the airway case 10. The mixed respiratory gas ispassed through the expired gas introducing passage 24 to be guided tothe airway case 10, and then discharged into the face mask through theexpired gas discharging passage 26. Alternatively, the respiratory gas70 from the nose and the respiratory gas 72 from the mouth are mixedwith each other in the airway case 10.

FIG. 10 shows attachment of a carbon dioxide sensor in the case wherethe airway adaptor of the invention is applied to a face mask, and FIG.11 shows a state where the sensor is used for the subject. As seen fromFIG. 10, the carbon dioxide sensor 40 can be detachably attached to theairway case 10 of the airway adaptor. As shown in FIG. 11, the sensor isused while the outer edge portion 61 of the face mask shell 60 isproperly closely contacted with the face of the subject. According tothe configuration, it is possible to adequately detect and measure theexistence, concentration, and the like of carbon dioxide in the expiredgas discharged through the nostrils or mouth of the living body. Theface mask shell 60 is in close contact with the face in the outer edgeportion 61, and hence the oxygen or the like arriving at theintroduction port 2 can be used for generating a positive pressure.

Although the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described,the invention is not restricted to the above-described embodiments. Forexample, the formation of the expired gas introducing passage 24functioning as the first respiratory gas flow path and the expired gasdischarging passage 26 functioning as the second respiratory gas flowpath in the airway case 10 may be performed by, in place of thedisposition of the partition wall 25 as in the embodiment, any one ofvarious other configurations, as far as the passages are juxtaposed toeach other. In addition, various design changes may be made withoutdeparting the spirit of the invention.

According to an aspect of the invention, in an opening through which theexpired gas passing through the airway case is introduced anddischarged, and which is disposed in the upper face of the airway case,an expired gas introducing passage functioning as the first respiratorygas flow path communicating with the expired gas guiding portion forguidingly introducing the expired gas, and an expired gas dischargingpassage functioning as the second respiratory gas flow path fordischarging the expired gas to the outside are juxtaposed to each other.According to the configuration, the operations of attaching anddetaching the expired gas guiding portion, the airway case, and thecarbon dioxide sensor are facilitated, and, also when the adaptor is tobe attached to a carbon dioxide nasal mask, the operations of attachingand detaching the carbon dioxide sensor can be easily performed.

According to an aspect of the invention, the configuration where theexpired gas guiding portion and the airway case are detachable can beformed in a relatively simple manner, and, when the adaptor is to beattached to a carbon dioxide nasal mask, only a part of the airwayadaptor is fixedly placed on the nasal mask. Therefore, a hermeticalconfiguration can be formed in which introduction and discharge of theexpired gas passing through the airway case can be surely performedinside the nasal mask without causing air leakage to the outside of thenasal mask.

According to an aspect of the invention, the nose cup for surrounding aface part in the periphery of the nostrils of the living body is fixedlyplaced on a part which forms the expired gas introducing passagedisposed in the airway case. Even under positive pressure ventilation inCPAP or NPPV therapy which is used in treatment of a patient sufferingfrom sleep apnea syndrome or respiratory failure, therefore, the nosecup can prevent the expired gas from the nose from being diluted byoxygen or the like which is inspired under positive pressure.

According to an aspect of the invention, the airway case is fixedlyplaced on an outer edge portion of a nasal mask shell of a carbondioxide nasal mask, and the airway case is connected to the outside ofthe nasal mask shell, whereby a hermetical configuration can be formedin which introduction and discharge of the expired gas passing throughthe airway case can be surely performed inside the nasal mask withoutcausing air leakage to the outside of the nasal mask. Therefore, theairway adaptor can be easily applied to an apparatus for CPAP or NPPVtherapy which is used in treatment of a patient suffering from sleepapnea syndrome or respiratory failure.

According to an aspect of the invention, the airway adaptor has theairway case which is projected from the nasal mask. Even when thesubject wears the nasal mask, therefore, the carbon dioxide sensor canbe easily attached to or detached from the airway case.

According to an aspect of the invention, in the opening which isdisposed in the upper face of the airway case, the expired gasintroducing passage and the expired gas discharging passage arejuxtaposed to each other. Therefore, it is requested that only theairway case is projected from the nasal mask. Accordingly, the airwayadaptor can be applied without exerting substantial influence on thestructure of an existing nasal mask. Consequently, the production costof a nasal mask which is to be simultaneously used can be suppressed,and the airway adaptor can be applied to various kinds of nasal masks.

According to an aspect of the invention, the expired gas guiding portionis configured by the first guiding portion which guides the respiratorygas from the nostrils of the living body, and the second guiding portionwhich guides the respiratory gas from the mouth of the living body.Therefore, the respiratory gases from both the nose and mouth of theliving body can be controlled. Furthermore, the airway adaptor can beapplied also to a face mask which is widely used in respiratory therapyand the like.

What is claimed is:
 1. An airway adaptor comprising: an airway case towhich a gas sensor is attachable; an expired gas guiding portion whichis connected to the airway case to introduce a respiratory gas to theairway case; a partition wall; an elongated first passage adapted tointroduce the respiratory gas from the expired gas guiding portion ofthe airway case; and an elongated second passage adapted to dischargethe respiratory gas from the elongated first passage, which has beenintroduced to the airway case and returned in the airway case withoutbeing communicated with the expired gas guiding portion, to outside ofthe airway case, wherein the partition wall partitions the elongatedfirst passage and the elongated second passage such that a portion ofthe elongated first passage is parallel to a portion of the elongatedsecond passage, and wherein the respiratory gas in the portion of theelongated first passage flows in a first direction and the respiratorygas in the portion of the elongated second passage flows in a seconddirection opposite and in reverse with respect to the first direction.2. The airway adaptor according to claim 1, wherein the expired gasguiding portion is detachably connected to the airway case.
 3. Theairway adaptor according to claim 1, wherein the airway case includes afirst side face and a second side face which are opposed to each other,and a carbon dioxide sensor is attachable to the first side face and thesecond side face.
 4. The airway adaptor according to claim 1, whereinthe elongated first passage and the elongated second passage arejuxtaposed to each other.
 5. The airway adaptor according to claim 1,wherein one of the elongated first passage and the elongated secondpassage surrounds the other of the elongated first passage and theelongated second passage.
 6. The airway adaptor according to claim 1,wherein a nose cup for surrounding a periphery of nostrils is disposedon one of the expired gas guiding portion and the airway case.
 7. Theairway adaptor according to claim 1, wherein a part of the airwayadaptor is disposed on a nasal mask shell of a nasal mask in whichpositive pressure ventilation is enabled, and the airway case isprojected to an outside of the nasal mask shell.
 8. The airway adaptoraccording to claim 1, wherein the expired gas guiding portion is a nasaltube which is to be inserted into nostrils of a living body.
 9. Theairway adaptor according to claim 1, wherein the expired gas guidingportion includes: a first guiding portion which guides the respiratorygas from nostrils of a living body; and a second guiding portion whichguides the respiratory gas from a mouth of the living body.
 10. Theairway adaptor according to claim 9, wherein the respiratory gas whichis guided by the first guiding portion and the respiratory gas which isguided by the second guiding portion are joined together in the airwaycase or at an upstream side of the airway case.
 11. The airway adaptoraccording to claim 1, wherein a part of the airway adaptor is disposedon a face mask shell of a face mask in which positive pressureventilation is enabled, and the airway case is projected to an outsideof the face mask shell.
 12. The airway adaptor according to claim 9,wherein the first guiding portion is a nasal tube which is to beinserted into the nostrils of the living body.
 13. The airway adaptoraccording to claim 1, wherein the elongated first passage is separatefrom and adjacent to the elongated second passage.
 14. The airwayadaptor according to claim 1, wherein the airway case includes arespiratory gas flow path through which the respiratory gas passes, therespiratory gas flow path includes: the elongated first passage in whichthe respiratory gas flows in the first direction; and the elongatedsecond passage in which the respiratory gas flows in the seconddirection opposite and in reverse with respect to the first direction,and the elongated first passage and the elongated second passage areconnected to each other in the respiratory gas flow path through whichthe respiratory gas passes.
 15. The airway adaptor according to claim14, wherein the portion of the elongated first passage is parallel tothe entire elongated second passage.
 16. The airway adaptor according toclaim 1, wherein the elongated first passage is connected to the expiredgas guiding portion to introduce the expiratory gas from the expired gasguiding portion to the airway case, and the elongated second passage isconnected to the airway case without being directly connected to theexpired gas guiding portion to discharge the expiratory gas from theelongated first passage to the outside of the airway case.
 17. Theairway adaptor according to claim 1, wherein the partition wall isarranged between a part of the elongated first passage and a part of theelongated second passage, and the partition wall is defined by at leastone of the part of the elongated first passage and the part of theelongated second passage.
 18. The airway adaptor according to claim 1,further comprising: the gas sensor is configured to measure a gas in therespiratory gas, and is attached to the airway case.
 19. The airwayadaptor according to claim 18, wherein the gas sensor is a carbondioxide sensor, and the gas to be measured includes carbon dioxide. 20.The airway adaptor according to claim 1, wherein a first part of theairway case is fixed to a shell of a mask, which is to be attached to aface of a living body.
 21. The airway adaptor according to claim 20,wherein a part of the expired gas guiding portion is disposed in theshell of the mask, and at least a second part of the airway case isprojected to an outside of the shell of the mask.
 22. A mask adapted tobe attached to a face of a living body, the mask comprising: a shellconfigured to cover at least one of a nose and a mouth of the livingbody when the mask is attached to the face of the living body; and theairway adaptor of claim 1, wherein the airway adapter is attached to theshell.